"If you put Iran to the wall, we do not know what would be the effect," Hamid said.

WASHINGTON, September 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United States warned Iran that it must abide by international accords on nuclear programs or face possible UN sanctions, as Malaysia urged Washington not to put Tehran to the wall.

"Let us not put Iran to the wall. If you put Iran to the wall, we do not know what would be the effect," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said when answering a question at a US-Malaysia forum in Washington Monday, September 26.

He said the world would not want the Iranian nuclear issue to blow up into an Iraq-like conflict.

"We have seen too much difficulty" with the US-led invasion of Iraq and "we do not want to see another situation where we are confronted with an open conflict which is difficult to manage subsequently," Syed Hamid said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Malaysia is the current chair of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors Saturday adopted a resolution that threatens to take Iran before the United Nations Security Council for violations of international non-proliferation rules.

Furious over the resolution, Iran has threatened to cease application of a protocol allowing tougher nuclear inspections if the UN nuclear agency insisted on reporting Iran to the Security Council.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but the United States claims it hides a covert weapons program.

Syed Hamid said that in dealing with Iran, the United States should emulate the negotiation style used at attempting to end North Korea's nuclear weapons drive.

Earlier this month, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear weapons network in return for security guarantees and energy aid following protracted talks, which also involved the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.

"It is better that Iran be engaged in negotiations. I know the frustration of negotiations and dialogue," Syed Hamid said, citing the six-party Korean nuclear talks "that took so long but have been put on track".

"Why can't we do the same thing in this particular case," he asked.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia supported disarmament and non-proliferation and had conveyed to Iran that "they must come out very clean and open in negotiations" over its nuclear program.

"We should remain engaged," he said.

"It is unacceptable the way Iran is behaving," McClellan said.

Hamid's remarks coincided with warnings from Washington against what it termed Tehran's "pattern of deception and concealment."

"It is unacceptable the way Iran is behaving. And if it does not come into compliance, then the matter is going to be referred to the United Nations Security Council," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters, according to AFP.

The rhetoric came even before Iran threatened to cease application of the additional protocol to allow nuclear inspections if the UN nuclear watchdog pursued a resolution which could take Iran before the UN Security Council.

McClellan, referring to that IAEA resolution, said: "The world is saying to Iran that it is time to come clean. The world has put Iran on notice with this resolution.

"That was clearly stated in the resolution that was passed. The resolution reflects the international community's deep concern about Iran's pattern of deception and concealment. And we will not tolerate it," he said.

"We continue to support the diplomatic efforts of the Europeans to resolve this matter," he told reporters. "There is a growing majority of nations that recognize Iran's noncompliance must be addressed.

"And if they continue to fail to comply with their international obligations, then the matter is going to the United Nations Security Council," said the spokesman.

Tensions

"There is no doubt that a report to the Security Council initiates a chain of events," Aghazadeh said. (Reuters)

The Malaysian top diplomat was speaking after Iran's vice-president warned Monday that reporting Tehran to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear program would "breed tension" in the already volatile Middle East., the Islamic republic's vice-president warned Monday.

"There is no doubt that a report to the Security Council initiates a chain of events, of actions and reactions that breed tension and add volatility to an already vulnerable political situation in the region," Gholamreza Aghazadeh told a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna.

In Tehran, the foreign ministry threatened to cease application of the protocol allowing tougher nuclear inspections if the UN nuclear watchdog insisted on reporting Iran to the Security Council.

Iran in 2003 signed -- but did not ratify -- the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's (NPT) additional protocol that gives reinforced inspection powers to the IAEA.

Aghazadeh said that engaging the Security Council "abrogates" a 2003 agreement to suspend the enriching of uranium, a nuclear reactor fuel that can also be bomb material.

That agreement was made in Tehran with European Union negotiators Britain, France and Germany, the same countries which drafted the IAEA resolution.